May 28
1800s *1892 - Jimmy Ryan collected five walks helping the Chicago Colts defeat Amos Rusie and the New York Giants 10–4. 1900s *1901 - Behind the shutout pitching of Jack Powell, the St. Louis Cardinals defeated Christy Mathewson and the New York Giants, 1–0. For Mathewson, it was his first loss of the season. His lone base on balls, in the second inning, resulted in the game only run. 1910s *1910 - Christy Mathewson of the New York Giants scattered 10 hits and defeated the Philadelphia Phillies, 3–2, at Baker Bowl. Fred Snodgrass hit a two-run double off Jim Moroney in the fifth inning to give the Giants the edge. 1920s *1927 - In his first starting assignment for the Yankees, Wilcy Moore lose a heartbreaker to the Senators, 3–2, in the nitecap of a doubleheader. Lou Gehrig is spiked at first base by Bucky Harris as Firpo Marberry scored the winning run. The Yankees won the opener, 8–2, as Babe Ruth hit his 12th home run of the year, a three-run shot. Tris Speaker played most of Game One for the Senators despite fracturing his left thumb in batting practice. 1930s *1930 - Grover Cleveland Alexander of the Philadelphia Phillies made his last major league appearance, giving up two hits and two runs in relief in the Boston Braves 5–1 victory. The Phillies released the 43-year-old veteran a few hours after the game. In a 20-season career, Alexander posted a 373-208 record with 2198 strikeouts and a 2.56 ERA. He will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1938. 1940s *1941 - The New York Yankees defeated the Washington Senators, 6–5, in the first night game played at Griffith Stadium. *1946 - The first night game is played at Yankee Stadium as the Washington Senators beat the New York Yankees 2–1. 1950s *1951 - After going 0-for-12 since his debut, Giants rookie Willie Mays gets his first hit, a 450-foot home run off Braves left-hander Warren Spahn. *1956 - Pittsburgh Pirates first baseman Dale Long hits his eighth home run in eight games, setting a major league record. This mark will be later tied by Don Mattingly and Ken Griffey, Jr. *1957 - With a unanimous vote, National League owners grant permission to both the Dodgers and Giants to relocate their clubs to the West Coast if they so desire. 1960s *1962 - Former Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe signed with the Chunichi Dragons of the Japanese League, becoming the second American player, after Wally Kaname Yonamine, to play professional baseball in Japan. *1968 - The American League owners agreed to divide itself into two divisions and reduce its schedule to 156 games. The following divisional alignment is set for the 1969 season: Eastern: Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, Washington Senators. Western: California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Oakland Athletics, Seattle Mariners. 1970s *1971 - Clete Boyer, involved in a dispute with Atlanta Braves owner Paul Richards and manager Luman Harris over alleged silly rules and mismanagement, is released and he retires. Boyer had hit safely in the last nine games of his 16-season career, including five home runs and 14 runs batted in. A Gold Glove third baseman, Boyer was a .242 hitter with 162 home runs and 654 RBI in 1725 games for the Kansas City Athletics, New York Yankees, and Atlanta Braves. 1980s *1986 - Chicago White Sox pitcher Joe Cowley set a major league record by striking out the first seven Texas Rangers batters he faces, but still surrenders six runs in 4 1/3 innings and loses 6–3. Cowley's record will be broken by Jim Deshaies of the Houston Astros before season's end. 1990s *1994 - Dave Winfield of the Minnesota Twins hit his 3,054 major league career to surpass former Twin Rod Carew into 15th place on the all-time list. *1995 - At Tiger Stadium, the Chicago White Sox (five) and Detroit Tigers (seven) combined to set a major-league record 12 home runs, with Chicago winning the 14–12 slugfest. 2000s *2000: **Homering in their 15th straight game, the Houston Astros set a team record in a 4–3 victory over the Braves, with Ken Caminiti and Lance Berkman helping Houston to establish the mark. **For the first time in franchise history, the Angels hit four home runs in one inning, with Darin Erstad, Mo Vaughn, Tim Salmon and Garret Anderson supplying the fireworks. *2001 - Dodgers catcher Paul Lo Duca hit 6-for-6 (including a home run) against the Rockies to tie a National League record for hits in an extra-inning game. *2003 - Rafael Furcal, Mark DeRosa and Gary Sheffield hit home runs off Cincinnati Reds' pitcher Jeff Austin in the bottom of the first inning, as the Atlanta Braves became only the second team in major league history to begin a game with three consecutive home runs. On April 13, 1987, Marvell Wynne, Tony Gwynn and John Kruk of the San Diego Padres did the same in the bottom of the first inning off San Francisco starter Roger Mason. *2004: **Mariano Rivera posted his 300th career save in a Yankees 7–5 victory over Tampa Bay. He also became the first Yankee and 17th reliever in major league history to reach the milestone. **Matt Clement became the 21st big league pitcher and the first Chicago Cubs pitcher in over a century to hit with pitches three batters in one inning to tie a major league record. The victims plucked in the fifth inning of the first game of a doubleheader against the Pirates were Bobby Hill, Jason Kendall and Craig Wilson. *2006: **Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants hit the 715th home run of his 21-year major league career to surpass Babe Ruth for sole possession of second place on the all-time list. Hank Aaron is the all-time leader with 755 home runs. Bonds connected a 90-mph 3-2 fastball in the bottom of the fourth inning off Byung-Hyun Kim of the Colorado Rockies before a near-capacity crowed at AT&T Park. Colorado won the game, 6–3, as Kim became the 421st pitcher to surrender a home run to the 41-year-old slugger. **Mark Bellhorn of the San Diego Padres hit the longest home run in Petco Park's three-year history and added a three-run double in a 10–8 victory over St. Louis. Belhorn's homer was estimated at 438 feet, eclipsing the 434 feet mark set by Sammy Sosa in 2004. Births *1887 - Jim Thorpe, outfielder and all-around athlete (d. 1953) *1896 - Warren Giles, Hall of Fame executive (d. 1919) *1957 - Kirk Gibson, outfielder *1958 - Bill Doran, infielder *1964 - Duane Ward, All-Star pitcher *1969 - Mike Difelice, catcher *1981 - Daniel Cabrera, pitcher *1982 - Jhonny Peralta, infielder Deaths *1930 - Hal Carson, pitcher (b. 1892) *1986 - Taylor Douhit, outfielder (b. 1901) *2002 - Wes Westrum, All-Star catcher and manager (b. 1922)